Springtime is often my skin's finickiest time of year. Between seasonal allergies creating more inflammation, skin shedding more as it renews, and acne flare-ups caused by the warming weather and hormonal fluctuations associated with this time of year (and my being perimenopausal), my skin becomes its own version of Goldilocks. Products can be too heavy, too light, too harsh, or wimpy but are rarely just right to get me through this transitory period.
My solution for these issues often comes in the form of masking, and clarifying masks in particular provide much benefit as the deeply clean without a lot of manual effort, meaning that my skin can relax while excess oil is being soaked up and acne spots shrunk. But too often, I will resort to potent blends that can take more than they give and leave me out of balance as a result.
Enter Bounce House from Apis Apotheca. Apis Apotheca is a small indie skincare business out of Upstate New York that offers farm-grown organic skincare in small batches. Fresh, gentle potency are the words of the day. And the Bounce House mask lives up to all three. Its formula is more focused on hydration rather than controlling or reducing oil , but emphasis is also placed on boosting micro-circulation in the skin via the inclusion of lovely, soft-smelling jasmine and hibiscus. Through micro-circulation, the skin is encouraged and facillitated to go about its innate process of repair and renewal, smoothing itself out and working with the small amount of kaolin clay to gentle resolve and heal blemishes. In short, this is an ideal mask for those with dry skin that still struggle with clogged pores, acne, namely me. And it provides the reboot irs name promises. My skin is left decidedly calmer, more clean-feeling, and so much softer, and any existing areas of redness are smaller and reduced in intensity. There is no mask that can truly extract out every part of a breakout in a single use (unless the spot is just starting to form), but this mask does provide usually quite discernible effects in one go.
A thing to note is that this mask doesn't dry hard. In my experience it just tends to set on the face while still looking and feeling relatively juicy on the face. This shows that the amount of clay in the formula is not a lot and also allows for keeping the mask on for long periods of time. If you are someone who likes to indulge in masking in a steamy bath, this could be some treat. However, if you, like me use masks more often as you either go about life actively or as a deeper replacement for a cleanser in the morning, this mask has done a lot of its setting and a lot of its job on me in about 15 mins. Rinsing is super easy, but be aware that a little pinkening can be left behind on the skin from both the hibiscus (a mildly exfoliating ingredient) and beet extracts (a conditioning and strengthening ingredient. But in my experience, the pinkening is subtle and fades very quickly, even on my very pale skin.
I am truly delighted with my experience with Bounce House Vitality Reboot Mask and recommend to anyone. Even if you have oilier skin than me, I feel you might still enjoy the quick renewal and light hydration boost it gives. More so, I am impressed with Apis Apotheca as a brand. In addition to trying Bounce House, I also got two other samples, one of the Flower Sap Hydration Harmonizer (very beautiful seaweed and rose blend of a serum/liquid moisturizer that I have gone on to purchase to use this summer) and the Resin Concentrate (a regenerative oil blend of frankincense and other oils that addresses inflammation and skin barrier building that I feel would especially good for the Fall and Winter but potentially any season), so I am sure this is not the last you will hear of them on La Petite Rose. Samples are available on the website for the majority of the products for around $5 apiece USD But to start your journey as I did, you can try the Bounce House Mask for $52 USD at apisapotheca.com